Women’s basketball: For Bonnies, George Mason is next hurdle

The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team will return home as it takes on George Mason on Saturday at 1 inside the Reilly Center.

The Bonnies are coming off of a 59-47 victory over Davidson on Wednesday. Senior Nyla Rueter tallied a game-high 16 points, while also reaching her career milestone of 1,000 points midway through the second quarter.

The women have combined with the men’s team for a record-breaking start with a combined record of 27-5. The Bonnies lead the A-10 at 43.3 percent field goal shooting for the year. While their offensive production has been consistent, the Bonnies’ defense cannot be overlooked. Opponents are shooting 33.2 percent against the SBU defense on the season, ranking it eighth-best in the nation.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams, as George Mason joined the Atlantic 10 for the 2013-14 season. The series history between the Patriots and the Bonnies is split, with each squad tallying a win against the other. The brown and white suffered a home-court loss against the Patriots last season in overtime. Katie Healy notched 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in that meeting.

The Patriots return two starters from last season’s team; redshirt senior Taylor Brown and sophomore Taylor Dodson. With 1,488 career points, Brown is the only active A-10 player with more points than Bonaventure’s Healy. Through their first four league games, the Patriots are second to only the Bonnies in three-point shooting at 37.2 percent from beyond the arc. However, they are ranked last in points per game allowed with 70.5.

The Bonnies have committed the fewest fouls of any team in the nation with 135 overall, or 12.8 per game. With four double-doubles from Healy on the season, they continue to rebound well and have lost the battle of the boards just once in the last nine games.